Tag Archives: Ward Security

A fleet of Ward Security vans are displaying poppy stickers in support of the Royal British Legion’s annual Remembrance Sunday Appeal and to show respect for the 100th Anniversary of the First World War.

The national security provider is proudly displaying the poppy logos on its fleet of vehicles, while also making a financial donation to the Royal British Legion’s local Chatham branch.

David Ward, CEO at Ward Security, said “The Royal British Legion does an incredible job of supporting Armed Forces personnel past and present and their families. Like many people, we had relatives who fought in the First and Second World Wars and we continue to have close connections to the military and those currently serving. Many of our employees are also former military personnel. We believe that it’s both right and important to continue to support the appeal and, by putting the poppy on our fleet of vehicles, we help to keep the campaign visible and in the public eye.”

Ward Security was founded in 2000 by brothers David and Kevin Ward. Today, the business employs over 900 people and provides security solutions to companies nationwide. Originally based on the Medway Trading Estate, the company’s new headquarters was officially opened earlier this month in the Fitted Rigging House at the Historic Chatham Dockyard in Kent.

Jeff King, security manager at Davidson House in Reading, was given a standing ovation as he collected the Star Employee of the Year Award 2016 at the tenth annual Ward Security Star Employee Awards. As well as delivering his professional duties to the highest standards, for 14 years now King has undertaken a great deal of charity work for good causes included MENCAP and other charities, as well as local old people’s homes.

70 year-old King received his award from City of London Police Commissioner Ian Dyson; one of a number of VIP guests in attendance at the ceremony, which was held at The Grange City Hotel in the shadow of the Tower of London.

Other VIP guests presenting awards included Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Barnard from the City of London Police, Philip Jones (head of security for Westfield Europe Ltd), Steve Cook (director at the British Arab Commercial Bank) and Keith Hanson (chief exhibitor of the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London). Also in attendance were representatives from a number of clients and partners of Ward Security.

“The Annual Star Employee Awards recognise and reward staff across the business who have demonstrated the highest standards, and who have made an outstanding contribution to the reputation of Ward Security.” explained managing director Kevin Ward. “We pride ourselves on the quality of our team members, but equally we are keen to highlight examples of dedication to service that go above and beyond the call of duty. It’s not always an easy task as the standards exhibited are so high.”

Ward continued: “It’s very important that our staff know how much they are appreciated. That being so, our annual Star Employee Awards are a hugely important date in our calendar. We’re delighted that so many of our clients and partners, as well as representatives from the police, could join us this year.”

Left to Right: Ian Dyson, Sian Lloyd, Jeff King and Daryl Smith pictured at the Ward Security Employee Awards 2016

Keith Hanson, who presented a Special Recognition Award, told the audience “This is the tenth time I’ve attended the Ward Security Employee Awards, which says something about the high regard I have for the company.”

Ward Security has taken ownership of a new electric car as part of an ongoing commitment to reducing the company’s carbon footprint. The new Nissan Leaf has been deployed at the International Trading Estate in Southall, where the company provides 24-hour security for the entire estate.

“Ward Security takes its environmental responsibilities seriously,” explained managing director Kevin Ward. “The company is ISO 14001 accredited for our Environmental Management System and we recently purchased new fleet vehicles and gave fleet managers control using tracker and driver management. Consequently, we’ve managed to decrease emissions per vehicle despite a 9.5% increase in fleet size and now achieve 70-80 mpg and lower fuel costs, while also ensuring drivers drive sensibly and safely as they’re being monitored and managed properly.”

Ward continued: “It’s important that we have a particular focus on transport as the nature of the business means we have a lot of staff using a lot of vehicles to travel a lot of miles, so the challenge is considerable and takes a concerted effort from everyone across the company. However, we’re delighted by what we’ve achieved so far. The purchase of a new electric vehicle is another step towards further reductions in our carbon footprint.”

During 2016, Ward Security is looking to replace 18 vehicles with newer vehicles that offer even better fuel consumption and lower emissions. The new vehicles will be limited to 62 mph and feature stop/start technology designed to further increase miles-per-gallon and reduce emissions.

Ward Security has a strong commitment to corporate social responsibility. As well as addressing environmental concerns, the company regularly sponsors, contributes towards or fundraises for a number of charities and organisations in various categories, including Abigail’s Footsteps – a national charity that’s making positive changes to the lives of bereaved families and promoting safer births.

The company sponsors Aylesford Rugby Club and also runs safety campaigns with local schools. Ward Security supports the Medway Foodbank Trust by providing a free security service for the foodbank’s warehouse and volunteering staff to help in the warehouse, and regularly allows members of staff to take time off for charity work.

Ward Security has just achieved its best ever score (170 out of 174) in an independent audit conducted on behalf of the Security Industry Authority (SIA) – the Regulator for the private security industry in the UK – for the Approved Contractor Score (ACS).

External assessing body Chamber Certification Assessment Service Ltd (CCAS) carried out a five-day combined annual assessment of Ward Security during February 2015 that included a reverification assessment for the ACS around Security Guarding, Door Supervision, CCTV and Key Holding as well as a surveillance audit for ISO 9001:2008 (Quality Management Systems) and a renewal/full audit for BS 18001:2007 (Health & Safety).

Auditors visited nine customer sites in the West, London and Manchester regions and conducted interviews with over 50 Ward Security employees in addition to eight customers.

In his report, Keith Leyland (ACS assessor at CCAS) stated: “The company’s approach to improvement is excellent. The assessor reviewed very many examples in all areas of customer services, fleet management, compliance, finance, Human Resources and operations where the company has applied the Plan-Do-Check-Act principle to developing improvement.”

David Ward: managing director at Ward Security

Speaking about this achievement, Nikhil Kamboj (compliance director at Ward Security) stated: “We’ve enjoyed a 25% growth since last year, but Ward Security has now surpassed all expectations in producing its best-ever ACS score which comfortably puts us in the Top 1%-2% of the SIA’s regulated suppliers.”

David Ward, managing director of Ward Security, added “We’re both delighted and proud to have achieved this record ACS audit score. Managing growth while maintaining standards takes an extraordinary level of commitment and dedication from all members of staff, so our thanks must go to all management and staff right across the business.”

Ward continued: “This achievement shows that our systems are robust, effect and more than adequate to accommodate substantial business growth. It also illustrates to our customers that our growth has not compromised the level of service we deliver. Indeed, the quality of our service has improved as the company has grown.”

Ward Security operates a head office in London and a network of regional offices encompassing Rochester, Bracknell, Manchester and a newly opened-office in Scotland. Areas of specialist expertise include the provision of search and selection guard dogs, wireless intruder detection systems and concierge services through the new Ward Belgravia division.

Security provision for the Royal visit to Folkestone

Recently, Ward Security supplied a team of 16 operatives for a visit by Her Majesty The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh to Folkestone, where the Queen opened The Wing Visitor Centre at the National Memorial to the Few in Capel-le-Ferne, which is dedicated to pilots who engaged in the Battle of Britain.

“A Royal visit is always a particularly complex and sensitive operation,” explained David Ward. “This is made an even more complex security task when the visit includes more than one site and the party is on a tightly controlled deadline. It’s crucial that people have access to greet Her Majesty at each site, but security needs to be carefully and professionally managed in a way that’s not intrusive. Also, the Royal security team accompanying the party will need help in understanding the different sites and locations and potential threat angles, and this is further complicated if they have one eye on moving safely to the next locations. This complicates the logistics and planning, so additional security to that provided by the police and the security services has to be very efficient and effective in its operation in order to provide adequate support.”

One of Ward Security’s mobile patrol vehicles

Ward continued: “With a regional office in Kent, Ward Security has the local knowledge to make the process easier for this particular visit. Crucially, we have the experience of working with the police and the security services, which makes liaison, planning and delivery far easier. As a company, we also have vast experience in providing security for a range of scenarios and operations, and our members of staff are highly experienced in delivering effective and sensitive security.”

In conclusion, Ward told Risk UK: “It has been a great honour to provide additional security for Her Majesty’s visit, and we’re extremely proud to have provided our services for this important and historic visit.”

After opening The Wing Visitor Centre, Her Majesty The Queen and the Royal party proceeded to Canterbury Cathedral where the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh unveiled statues to mark the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee.

National security provider Ward Security has launched a personal safety initiative with schools and businesses in Kent and Berkshire as part of its ongoing commitment to improving safety in the local communities where the company is operational.

The initiatives have coincided with the clocks going back and the end of Daylight Saving Time, and promote the importance of maintaining personal safety while people are walking to school or work during the darker nights.

Meadow Vale Primary School in Bracknell and Northborough Junior School in Maidstone both held an assembly as part of Ward Security’s specialised school safety initiative, the Walk to School ‘Be Safe’ Campaign, which included safety talks from Ward Security personnel to everyone at the school with the support of local Police Community Support Officers. Children were told of the importance of walking to school safely and provided with information leaflets and fluorescent ‘glow in the dark’ keyrings to place on their school bags.

Ward Security has been raising awareness of security issues across local communities

Police Community Support Officer Daemon Farry from Bracknell Police said: “Walking to school in the darker months can be a daunting and unnerving experience for young children. It’s really great to see a local company like Ward Security taking such an interest and proactively helping to promote awareness of the importance of walking safely when pupils are on their way to and from school. The school children were really engaged with the talk and the keyring giveaway will hopefully serve as a good reminder to them when they’re walking to and from school.”

Personal safety for business employees

Ward Security has also visited Brachers in Maidstone, Kent to promote the importance of personal safety. The company handed out free torches to employees at the law firm’s offices, as well as personal safety Best Practice guideline sheets to provide general reassurance for those members of staff making their way to and from the office as the nights draw in.

Denise Hooton, associate director of marketing at Ward Security, commented: “As a security company we are keen to ensure wherever we operate that we’re helping to promote safety awareness in the local community. The Walk to School ‘Be Safe’ Campaign and Brachers torch giveaway events went extremely well. We hope the information provided goes some way towards reassuring and protecting children and adults as they travel to and from school and work.”

Joanna Worby, managing partner at Brachers, added: “We’re always concerned to ensure the safety of our staff and were delighted to work with Ward Security on helping to raise awareness of personal safety issues.”

The torch giveaway follows on from a number of initiatives created by Ward Security to improve personal safety awareness at a number of locations near their Bracknell and Manchester offices over the past year.

Ward Security has announced its top performing employees of the year at the annual Star Employee Awards Ceremony. From its 550-strong team, Ward Security presented nine employees with a Star Award in recognition of their commitment, loyalty and outstanding achievements during 2013.

Winners included employees from the London, Central, South East and West regional offices operated by the company, with two members of staff receiving special recognition awards.

Alex Ambrose, who has been an employee of Ward Security for seven years, was formally recognised by receiving the Outstanding Achievement Award. Ambrose was described at the ceremony as someone “who prefers to work under the radar” and has amazed the head office team with his ability to efficiently collate and analyse data as well as problem solve.

In addition, Ambrose plays a pivotal part in managing the company’s bespoke client Help Desk service.

The seventh annual Ward Security Star Employee Awards were a tremendous success. Pictured (far left) is Ward Security’s md David Ward, with Gareth Tancred (CEO, BIFM) second from the right

Lee Chapman is this year’s winner of the coveted Employee of the Year Award which was presented by Gareth Tancred, the CEO of the British Institute of Facilities Management. Initially employed as a dog handler in May 2007, Chapman quickly progressed to the position of contract manager and is viewed by Ward Security as one of its rising stars.

Chapman was described by the panel of judges as someone who is extremely proactive and diligent and an outstanding ambassador for the company. He was also noted as someone who is a thoughtful and compassionate person which is clearly visible both in the relationships he has with his clients and in his interaction with the security dogs he trains.

Outstanding team members at Ward Security

Commenting on the Star Employee Awards, David Ward – managing director of Ward Security – explained: “Kevin and I always look forward to these awards with a great sense of pride and satisfaction. We’re delighted to host this evening as a Thank You in recognition of the outstanding team members we have at Ward Security. Such is the quality of our team that this year’s winners were harder than ever for the judges to decide upon. We would like to congratulate everyone who was nominated throughout the course of the year and, of course, our worthy winners.”

The 2014 ceremony represents the seventh annual Star Employee Awards run by Ward Security and the culmination of monthly employee awards for which staff are nominated throughout the year. This year’s event took place on Friday 15 August at The Grange City Hotel in London.

The inaugural ACS Pacesetters Achievement Awards Luncheon was held at Royal Windsor Racecourse on Wednesday 4 June. Scheme members in attendance received engraved plaques commemorating their achievements during 2013-2014.

A charity raffle took place at the conclusion of the event, with all proceeds going to Hounds for Heroes. Over £1,400 was raised on the day for this very worthwhile cause.
Generous prizes were donated by the Hindhead Golf Club, the Royal Windsor Racecourse, Sodexo and FM Contract Watch.

There was also an extremely moving speech delivered by Gulf War veteran Allen Parton, whose long-held dream and partnership with his Labrador, Endal, formed the basis for the foundation of Hounds for Heroes.

The purpose of Hounds for Heroes is to provide specially trained assistance dogs to injured and disabled men and women of both the UK Armed Forces and the Emergency Services. Through this provision, the organisation’s key aim is to provide help and practical support leading to an enhanced quality of life for its clients.